MakerBot and GE FirstBuild Team Up for a Chilling Thingiverse Challenge

Engineers and Homeowners Encouraged to "Hack" Their Refrigerators to
Create 3D Printed Custom Accessories in the GE FirstBuild and MakerBot
Thingiverse Icebox Challenge

BROOKLYN, N.Y. and LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
MakerBot and GE FirstBuild™ are cooking up a chilling
challenge - a GE FirstBuild and MakerBot® Thingiverse® Icebox
Challenge! Some would say the refrigerator is the most important
appliance in the kitchen. While the primary role of the household
refrigerator has always been, and continues to be, to keep food and
drinks cold, innovations such as 3D printing are making it possible to
transform this appliance at the center of the kitchen into a customized
version that better meets the needs of the individual homeowner.

The desire to customize has sparked GE FirstBuild, in collaboration with
MakerBot, to introduce the GE FirstBuild Thingiverse Icebox
Challenge, aimed at designing solutions that can be placed inside of
the refrigerator. Ideas could range from purely 3D printed pieces to
battery-operated electromechanical devices. FirstBuild's engineers have
already been inspired by this Icebox Challenge and have designed test
prints that include a 3D printed pizza box holder, customizable to the
size of the box and the refrigerator shelves, and a motorized 3D printed
wine chiller. The possibilities are endless! FirstBuild and MakerBot are
excited to see what innovative ideas the public comes up with.

To qualify, designs must be uploaded to firstbuild.combetween November 3 and November 23, 2014, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Contestants are encouraged to upload their entries to thingiverse.com
as well, using the tag #IceboxChallenge, for a chance to be
featured on the Thingiverse
site. 3D print testing, online community voting and judging will occur
from November 27 to December 2, with the winner announced December 15.

What can you win?

The first-place winner will choose between a MakerBot Replicator®
Desktop 3D Printer or a MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental 3D
Printer, and his or her creation will be featured on Thingiverse and
displayed in MakerBot
Retail Stores.

The second-place winner will receive a MakerBot Replicator Mini
Compact 3D Printer, and his or her creation will be featured on
Thingiverse and displayed in the MakerBot Retail Stores.

The third-place winner will receive three spools of MakerBot Filament,
a Thingiverse T-shirt and a FirstBuild T-shirt, and his or her
creation will be featured on Thingiverse and displayed in MakerBot
Retail Stores.

"Having the ability to 3D print custom accessories for your refrigerator
is a really cool thing," noted Jenny Lawton, acting CEO of MakerBot. "We
have a very talented and creative Thingiverse community, and a challenge
like this is just the sort of activity that can really showcase how 3D
printing and Real-Time Prototyping on a MakerBot Replicator 3D
Printer can transform the traditional design process."

"We see the FirstBuild Thingiverse Icebox Challenge as a way to empower
our customers to design accessories for their home appliances that fit
their own lifestyle best," noted Natarajan Venkatakrishnan, director of
GE FirstBuild. "To be able to open up our innovation process to the
public and have them tell us what accessories they would like in their
refrigerators is pretty exciting."

The FirstBuild Thingiverse Icebox Challenge runs from November 3 through
November 23. For additional information on MakerBot or Thingiverse,
visit makerbot.com
and/or thingiverse.com.
For information on FirstBuild, visit firstbuild.com.

About MakerBot

MakerBot, a subsidiary of Stratasys
Ltd. (Nasdaq:SSYS), is leading the Next Industrial Revolution by setting
the standards in reliable and affordable desktop 3D printing. Founded in
2009, MakerBot has built the largest installed base of desktop 3D
printers sold to innovative and industry-leading customers worldwide,
including engineers, architects, designers, educators and consumers. To
learn more about MakerBot, visit makerbot.com.

About FirstBuild

FirstBuild is a new model for designing and building home appliances and
bringing them to market. A partnership between GE Appliances and Local
Motors, FirstBuild brings together an open community of industrial
designers, engineers and other innovative minds to collaborate on new
product designs that are rapidly brought to life at the FirstBuild Microfactory.
For more information on how to get involved, visit FirstBuild.com.